Here is some great inspiration from the people in La Crosse, Wisconsin via NPR.

They are used to talking about death. In fact, 96 percent of people who die in this small, Midwestern city have specific directions laid out for when they pass. That number is astounding. Nationwide, it's more like 50 percent. La Crosse is such an exception thanks to one guy who decided that people in this town needed to make plans for their death.

In today's episode, we'll take you to a place where dying has become acceptable dinner conversation for teenagers and senior citizens alike. It's a place that also happens to have the lowest Medicare spending of any region in the country.

D2KDay supporters can take advantage of a great offer on a documentary film that's bound to get those all important end of life conversations started on Dying to Know Day.

The screening license for Love in Our Own Time, described as "a stunning and sensitive exploration of birth, love and death", is being offered at 25% off to Groundswell supporters for Dying to Know Day events.

The film follows palliative care doctor Frank Brennan and several midwives to examine birth, death and familial relations in contemporary Sydney. It offers an accessible way of engaging people in discussion about issues relating to death and dying and has been extensively used at professional and community events.

Testimonials

"Love in Our Own Time challenges me to think about what it is about this life that is important. The privilege of being able to glimpse something of the lives and stories of real people waiting for a birth or a death invites me to think about what these things mean to me, and how I might negotiate their happening. Rather than hide details behind closed (often hospital) doors, the corporeal, emotional and human reality of them takes an overdue centre stage. Life is fragile, and rich and strong and meaningful in our sharing of it with others."

Dr Kristof Mikes-Liu, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

“I watched Love in Our Own Time just a month before a friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The film prepared me for discussing death with my friend and his wife, as well as helping me to understand and process my own feelings of grief. I found out yesterday that my friend is now in the final stages of the disease and has just a few weeks to live. The film continues to help me on this horrible journey. Thank you to everyone involved in making this film. Your film helped me be a better friend. I've been able to offer better understanding and support because of its insights.”

Laura, Sydney

“Love in Our Own Time is an extremely sensitive exposition of the most profound milestones of the human condition – Birth and Death. We intimately share in the private joys and griefs of the participating families. The filming is honest without guile, gentle and sensitive without excessive sentimentality and at times almost brutally honest. The trust that the families have placed in Tom Murray by allowing him to film these usually most private events is justly rewarded in a truly amazing documentary that reveals people at their most vulnerable.”

Elizabeth Logan

Order Love in Our Own Time

Supporters wishing to screen the film as part of a Dying to Know Day event will receive a 25% discount on the purchase price.